“Road to Unicum” Tank Guides & Reviews for World of Tanks

When I read the World of Tanks (WoT) official forums, sub-Reddit, and WoTLabs forums, one question comes up more than any other: how do I improve my gameplay?

This is particularly challenging for players who have hit a ceiling in terms of their measurable performance (e.g. win rate, WN8 rating, etc) and are not sure what to do. While players can download replays of highly-skilled players, those replays don’t capture the thinking process of the player behind the tank – you see their actions but don’t necessarily know the how’s or why’s behind them.

Therefore, in this video series I share what I learned as I progressed towards account Unicum rating (top 1%) with silver ammo only. I talk through how I’m reading the battle as it unfolds and discuss key decisions and mistakes. My hope is that these videos meaningfully help players improve their gameplay.

When I started these videos, here were my WN8 stats:

Here are my most recent WN8 stats:

For full disclosure, for much of my time playing WoT, I’ve been a paying customer – that is, I do spend money to purchase gold, which is used for the following: premium subscription, training/reskilling crew members, converting tank-specific XP to Free XP so that I don’t have to play tanks stock, premium consumables, and camouflage. These things do definitely improve one’s stats. That said, I have at times played without a premium subscription, and in many cases when I use Free XP, I use it to skip low tier tanks and to unlock the first functional gun of a new tank, then I grind out the remaining modules for that tank.

Episode #1: E50 Review, Flexing to a Collapsing Flank

The E50 has a highly accurate gun, and the solid hull armor can be angled to deflect incoming fire. I discuss the importance of flexing to prevent a flank from collapsing and the arguments against capping too early instead of pressing an advantage.

Episode #2: E50M Review, Covering a Flank Solo

I review the E50M, the beefier of the two tier 10 German medium tanks.

I discuss the weighty responsibility of holding a flank solo, knowing when and where to push, and considerations when flanking the enemy near their base.

Episode #3: T-34-85 Review, Mid Control in Fisherman’s Bay

I review the T-34-85, the underrated tier 6 Russian medium tank that leads up to the T-44.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 2.6k damage, 4 kills, 2 spots

I discuss tactics for controlling the middle lanes (E/F) of Fisherman’s Bay and how to balance exposure with inflicting damage. The value of mid control can’t be overemphasized – it provides spotting opportunities, many firing lanes, and the ability to flex to either flank when needed, which is particularly important when playing a mobile medium tank.

Episode #4: T-44 Review, Value of the Hill in Mines

I review the T-44, a tier 8 Russian medium tank.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 3.6k damage, 3 kills, 8 spots

I discuss the value of high ground – an age-old principle of warfare that holds true in WoT on some maps – with footage of my T44 in a Mines battle. Holding the high ground provides the following benefits:

you have opportunities to take flanking shots on enemies below you, because they are preoccupied with tanks in front of them

you can cover different sides of the map with minimal repositioning

you control the extent of your tank’s exposure

In addition, I talk about the importance of being active – that is, playing smartly aggressive – as opposed to being passive / campy and letting the battle outcome be determined without you.

Episode #5: T-44 Review, Contributing When Bottom Tier

I discuss how to meaningfully contribute as a bottom-tier medium tank, with footage from a tier 10 Serene Coast battle in my T-44.

Stat line: 1st Class, 2.5k damage, 5 kills

As a bottom-tier tank, I have to respect the advantages of higher-tier opponents, who have more HP, stronger armor, higher alpha damage, better DPM, and superior vision control. That said, even with a low penetration gun, by carefully watching the minimap and being opportunistic, I was able to make a solid contribution.

Additional Comments

props to the STB-1 driver (ahmechanic2) who played very well throughout the battle

at 4:23, the JPE100 driver (andrewb610) made the right call to flex east and delay their tanks on that side, which bought time for us to crush their forces north and west

I nearly got wrecked at the 7:30 mark while typing a thank you to the STB-1. I have a tendency to be chatty during matches, and sometimes it screws me up. LOL

Feedback from [BULBA] CrackerBInebriated:

One thing I did see as a mistake was how you didn’t even attempt to engage the conqueror after he killed your IS3 at the cap. I know it has a quick reload, but you had a good side shot and time to escape after he had fired and needed to reload

I didn’t address that in the video but in real-time I realized I had made a mistake.

The mistake is that when I started pulling back, I stayed too close to the rocks on my left – as a result I a created a bigger gun depression challenge in terms of getting my gun down on the target. You can see that I start wiggling just to the right of the rock a bit, but realized I was taking too much time and lost the opportunity.

Episode #6: ELC AMX Review, First-Shot Opportunities

I review the wildly popular ELC AMX, the tier 5 French light tank, with a replay of a tier 6 Widepark battle.

I discuss how to play to the strengths of the ELC AMX – vision control, mobility, and the TD-quality gun – while managing its weaknesses – in particular its poor gun handling, extreme fragility, and low view range of 360 meters.

It’s critical to leverage these strengths to create first-shot opportunities, i.e. situations in which you spot the enemy and have sufficient time to aim before they spot you.

The ELC AMX was the first light tank above tier 2 that I played after 8000 battles. Up to that point, I’d primarily played heavies and mediums. After witnessing countless ELC AMX light tank drivers suicide or fail to meaningfully contribute, I decided to give the tank a go.

My conclusion is that the ELC AMX is the most consistently incorrectly played tank in all of WoT :)

Episode #7: ELC AMX Review, Common Mistakes When Bottom Tier

All too often, ELC drivers die early and cripple their team’s spotting capability. I discuss and make two common mistakes:

risking exposure to take a shot with the glacial-aiming gun

taking a poor approach line to spot enemy tanks

I have to manage with less than 30 HP for most of the battle as a result of the first mistake!

Episode #8: T-54 Review, Countering Unicum Platoons

I review the highly-regarded T-54, a Soviet tier 9 medium tank, with a replay of a tier 10 Mines battle.

Stat line: 1st Class, 4.7k damage, 4 kills, 1 spot

The top-tier enemy platoon consists of elite players from -G-, PBKAC, and BULLS, so I discuss countering such dangerous opponents by anticipating where they’re going and beating them to the punch with area denial, then burning down their pubbies.

I also demonstrate how to leverage the terrain on hill to safely fire on target(s) while minimizing exposure to snipers in their base.

Episode #9: T-54 Review, Managing Gun Depression and Flanking

We take a second look at the T-54, with a replay of a tier 9 Sand River battle.

Episode #10: E75 Review, Hull Angling Without Hard Cover

In the previous 9 episodes, we focused on medium and light tank gameplay. Today, I discuss the responsibility of playing a beefy top-tier heavy, in terms of acting as a meat shield and playing aggressively, especially when your team is behind.

The E-75 has a fantastic armor layout that enables you to bounce a lot of incoming shots with proper angling. I demonstrate the optimal angle for the hull of the E-75 to protect the vulnerable Lower Front Glacis (LFG) while not over-exposing the thick 120mm side hull armor, especially when in the open ground where there is no hard cover. In the replay, I bounce all but 2 non-arty shots, and both times my tank was penetrated it was due to poor hull angling on my part.

Episode #11: IS Review, Timing Enemy Reloads

I review the IS, a tier 7 Soviet heavy tank, with a replay of a tier 7 Mountain Pass battle.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 4.8k damage, 7 kills

Key Points

due to the long 2.87 sec aim time and 10.38 sec reload time (with 100% crew and equipment), it’s critical to keep track of enemy reload timers, so that when brawling you have time to aim sufficiently while minimizing risk

the side armor of 90mm is very thick for the tier, so you can angle your hull to increase the effective armor of your front hull without compromising your side armor

you don’t need to unlock the suspension to mount all upgraded modules and all 3 equipment pieces.

Episode #12: IS-3 Review, Patience in a Tight Spot

I review the IS-3, a tier 8 Soviet heavy tank, with a replay of a tier 9 Highway battle.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 4.5k damage, 3 kills, 3 spots

Key Points

when this video was made the lower front glacis (LFG) was very thick at ~245mm. The LFG was nerfed in 9.8 to ~200mm, but that’s still solid and the buff to the pikenose more than makes up for it

due to the weakness of the pikenose in close quarters and the incredibly soft turret roof, be aware that the IS-3 is easy-to-penetrate when face-hugging or in point-blank exchanges

when this video was made the lower front glacis (LFG) was very thick at ~245mm. The LFG was nerfed in 9.8 to ~200mm, but that’s still solid and the buff to the pikenose more than makes up for it

patience in a tight situation is key. When I was surrounded on 3 sides, I stalled to buy time for our light tanks to flank the tanks in city and bail me out

I rushed the kill shot on the 7/1. I should have waited a quarter-second for his side hull to be exposed, given that he wasn’t aiming at me

the T37 driver (1134eastlaw) provided a great example of the power of a light tnk in endgame situations

Feedback From Viewers

Many commenters disagree with me re: sidescraping. They feel that sidescraping on the IS-3 makes sense.

I can see doing that to bait shots into the side armor, so you can then expose your near-side pikenose safely while taking a free shot.

Errata

4:18 – what I meant here is that the IS-3 (not IS- and many tier 8 heavy tanks have very functional penetration values (e.g. 225+). There are exceptions of course, e.g. the T32 with 198

Episode #13: IS-3 Review, Contributing When Bottom Tier

I discuss how to meaningfully contribute when you’re in tier 10 battles in a tier 8 IS-3 heavy tank, with footage from two Serene Coast battles.

Stat line: over 3.1k damage in both battles

Comments / Errata

the silver penetration for the IS-3 is 225 not 226

the rear of the E100 turret is ~160mm effective armor, regardless whether you hit the hatch or not

Episode #14: Trolling Heavy Tanks LOL

I demonstrate how to troll big, tall, and slow turreted tanks in a Russian medium tank in World of Tanks (WoT), with footage of my T-62A facing E-100’s.

This works not only in the T62A but also tanks with a low profile and solid turret, such as the Object 140 and T-54.The key thing is to time your approach based on either when your target just fired or is facing the other direction, and to use the target as a shield to protect you from other enemy tanks while you whittle the target away.

Trololo!

Episode #15: T-10 Review, Heavy Medium – I Don’t Think So

I review the T-10, a tier 9 Soviet heavy tank (formerly known as the IS-8), with a replay of a tier 10 Ensk battle.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Comments / Errata

to be clear, gun bloom is a separate concern from gun accuracy (0.36 for the Cromwell). The shot on the St Emil @1:40 missed due to inaccuracy, not gun bloom, given that I had the time to fully aim. That said, bloom elongates the time to aim

the enemy Wolverine made a critical mistake late of pushing up valley without support – he isolated himself and got bullied by our Panther. Be wary of isolating yourself unless you are confident you will win any 1v1s

per the WoT Wiki: “Once spotted, a vehicle stays lit up for a minimum duration of 5 seconds which can extend up to 10 seconds after the spotter moves out of spotting range or gets destroyed” – so 5-10 seconds, not the 6-8 I mentioned in the video

Episode #17: T-62A Review, Spotting Hill in Prokhorovka

I review the T-62A, a tier 10 Soviet medium tank, with a replay of a Prokhorovka battle.

I also discuss how to safely spot hill from the north spawn, taking into account flanking fire from enemy tanks in the middle of the map (F5-F6). With the recent changes to view range, the T62A is even stronger now at vision control. The tactics in the video apply to the Fiery Salient variant of the same map.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Episode #18: T29 Review, Hull-Down King

I review the T29, a tier 7 American heavy tank, with a replay of a tier 8 Erlenberg battle.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 4.1k damage, 4 kills

With its awesome hull-down capability, the T29 is one of the strongest heavies at-tier in the game. I found it to be very comfortable to play and enjoyed driving it. On paper the HP (1250) seems low, but the hull-down capability makes that a non-issue.

Episode #19: T32 Review, 5k Damage Blocked FTW

In this battle, we have to overcome two notable issues:
1. the other team is stacked with tanks that can hull-down effectively, which is critical for the fighting in the northwest corner of this map
2. over half of my team is camping east or pushing south, leaving us thin northwest

For meaningful stretches of the battle, I’m able to hold my ground against multiple enemy tanks by using terrain and playing hull-down, and this enables us to overcome being outnumbered northwest.

Comments

the M58 gun is a meaningful upgrade from the T112: 0.3 sec faster aim time, 0.37 vs 0.40 accuracy, and 16 extra penetration. These 3 things combined make the upgrade definitely worth it

as with most tanks, you want to run with VStab and Rammer as equipment. The 3rd equipment piece depends on which gun you have mounted. When using the 2nd gun (T122), I recommend using GLD to help bring down the 2.6 sec aim time. When using the top gun (M58), I run with Coated Optics to strengthen the good 390m view range

Errata

in the garage my Commander has Recon as his 3rd skill, but I accidentally selected that over Situational Awareness, which is slightly better (+3% view range versus +2%)

Episode #21: M103 Review, Creating Isolations When Outnumbered

We take a second look at the M103, the tier 9 American heavy tank, with a replay of a tier 9 Himmelsdorf battle.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 5.4k damage, 7 kills, 2.6k blocked

I make several consecutive critical decisions that help our team pull out a victory, despite our being outnumbered and the other team having map control.

Key Takeaways

1. IMO 80% of the time when a team tries to cap (or calls for it in chat), it’s tactically the wrong thing to do, because either it won’t be possible to reach 100 points (e.g. the map is too small as is the case in most city battles, or cappers are very exposed to resets), or the better thing to do when you have a meaningful numbers advantage is to continue flanking the enemy.

I’m not saying you should never cap. Obviously if they are wrecking your team on the other side of the map, sometimes a miracle cap is the only way to win. Capping can put pressure on the opposing team or provide insurance.

It’s noteworthy that the WN crew found a correlation between defense points and win rate, which is why it’s included in the WN8 formula, but not between cap points and win rate.

2. on the flip side, if your team is losing and the opposing team is capping, often the best thing to do is defend your base, instead of continuing to push forward toward their base. This will take any of their base campers out of the fight and allow you to crush their isolated cappers.

Comments / Errata

a. the opposing Tiger I in tank alley was firing HE at me, which makes no mechanical sense.

HE only provides value in 3 situations: to destroy buildings, for higher damage on targets without meaningful armor such as Waffentrager TDs and American arties, and to finish off low-HP tanks that have strong armor (e.g. hull-down IS-7).

Episode #22: T110E5 Review, 9.7k Damage and 9 Kills

I review the T110E5, a tier 10 American heavy tank, with a replay of a Lakeville battle.

Comments

I run double repair kit with the E5, as I did with the M103. The small repair kit is mapped to the “5” key, so I can hit “5-5” to quickly repair damaged tracks. The nice thing about having the premium repair kit is that it provides a passive bonus. While not having a fire extinguisher entails risk, in my E5 and M103 I’ve been set on fire about once every 90 battles, so it’s an acceptable risk to me. You can minimize the likelihood of being set on fire by not letting tanks get shots on the rear of your tank

I recommend Optics over Vents as the 3rd equipment piece, as vision control is critical in mid-to-late game situations. The other two equipment pieces are the standard combo of VStab and Rammer

Once we cleared west, notice that some (dead) friendlies starting calling for us to cap. In a situation where your side is outnumbered, generally the better choice is to defend base. Had our T-34-2 gone to their cap, he would have been easily reset and wrecked. He defended with us, and spotted their E5 trying to flank in valley, and this was valuable intel

I discuss how to complete LT-15, the light tank mission that requires 4k+ damage contribution, which is the sum of direct damage and assisted damage. IMO the most consistent way to reach 4k+ is spotting from hill, because unlike passive scouting on the 1/2 lines, you can fire on tanks and then retreat behind hard cover.

Comments

it’s important to stay out of the line of fire when enemy tanks are shooting at your friendlies. E.g. at 3:49, the enemy T-54’s shell passes within a few meters of my hull, so I move up the hill a bit and point my hull towards the T-54 to make my profile smaller. By the same token, I stay away from the friendly AMX 50 100, who repeatedly exposes himself to spotting and enemy fire

Episode #24: AMX 12t Review, Earning 3 Marks of Excellence

I review the AMX 12t, a tier 6 French light tank, with footage from tier 8 and tier 9 battles.

Prior to driving the 12t, I expected it to suck. However, after playing the 12t I realized that it’s misplayed by many drivers, just as I found with the ELC AMX and the M103.

Episode #25: AMX 13 90 Review, 9.3k Contribution in Tier 10 Malinovka

We take a second look at the AMX 13 90, the tier 8 French light tank, with a replay of a tier 10 Malinovka battle.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 3.6k damage, 5.7k spotted, 2 spots, 1 kill

This video is “A Tale of Seven Light Tanks” because it provides clear examples of what a light tank driver should and shouldn’t do. My damage contribution of 9.3k was multiples of the other 6 light tanks combined, simply because I played my tank correctly based on light tank mechanics and the map design.

Errata

0:11 I meant tier 10 “Malinovka” not “Murovanka” in the narration

Episode #26: M24 Chaffee Review, 2688 XP Carry in Tier 8 Malinovka

We review the M24 Chaffee, a tier 5 American light tank, with a replay of a tier 8 Malinovka battle. We also discuss spotting on a weak flank with a replay of a tier 7 Live Oaks battle.

Similar to Episode 25 (AMX 13 90 in Tier 10 Malinovka), I initially scout from the E7 location, as it provides hard and soft cover, and I’m able to spot tanks at C5, on the approach to the hill, on the hill, in the ditch under the hill, and across the water to the west. I flex south to counter-spot their Cromwell platoon which threatens our southern flank and arties.

In the Live Oaks replay, I discuss why there is little value in spotting a flank when you are isolated. You won’t be able to meaningfully delay the enemy tanks pushing that flank so that your arty can fire on them. A common mistake by light tank drivers is to over-extend and spot when isolated, and in both situations the light tank often gets wrecked. Spotting is most effective when you’re doing it in such a way that friendly tank(s) aside from arty can fire on what you light, and where you have cover and an escape route.

Episode #27: Lorraine 40t Review, 9-Kill Carry in Mountain Pass

I review the Lorraine 40t, a tier 9 French medium tank, with a replay of a tier 9 Mountain Pass battle.

Other Comments

while platooning with skilled players makes it easier to win in any tank, the Lorr 40t disproportionately benefits from platooning as it needs support to cover it during the long clip reloads. Many people have complained to me about this tank, so my simple advice is to platoon with friends

Episode #28: E25 Review, 4k Damage and 8 Spots Gameplay

I review the E25, a tier 7 German premium tank destroyer, with a replay of a tier 8 Fisherman’s Bay battle.

The term “overpowered” tends to get thrown around a lot in online games, but the E-25 is truly an overpowered tank when played correctly, given how meaningfully the strengths outweigh the weaknesses.

It’s also an excellent money maker.

Recommended Equipment

1. Rammer
2. Optics
3. Vents

Aim-time reducing equipment is not needed given the excellent base aim time and high accuracy. While most sniping TDs get more benefit out of Binocs over Optics, the E25 is a good mobile spotter due to its view range and camouflage, so I favor Optics on it.

Episode #29: E25 Review, Retreating and Counter-attacking Tactics

I demonstrate when to retreat on a flank that is folding and how to counter-attack to recover and win that flank, with tier 8 replays of the E25 in Murovanka and Erlenberg.

I discuss reading game flow to anticipate when a flank is going to fold and how to take advantage of opponents who over-confidently push that flank by leveraging the E25’s superb vision control and highly accurate buzzsaw gun.

Episode #30: T37 Review, 3.6k Damage and 7 Kills Gameplay

We review the T37, a tier 6 American light tank, with a replay of a tier 7 Erlenberg battle.

Recommended Equipment

I review the Bat Chat 25 t, a tier 10 French medium tank, with a replay of a Cliff battle.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 5.4k damage, 8 kills, 2 spots

The Bat Chat has strong scouting capability and can carry games if the driver carefully conserves HP. It is the classic example of a tank that has a high ceiling and low floor, i.e. Bat Chat performance is highly dependent on the driver.

It is one of only two tanks where I have been able to average over both 2 kills and 2 spots per game over 100+ battles, and that speaks to the strengths of the tank.

Ofttimes, players in a platoon choose identical lanes and fields of fire (aka “wolf-packing”). Beyond that, Unicums use complementary positioning and setup different angles of fire to gain tactical advantage and map control.

I’ve wanted to do this video for ages, so I finally went through my saved replays to pull together good examples of platoon tactics. I hope you enjoy it!

Please let me know what platoon tactics you use that I didn’t include in the video.

Episode #33: Luchs Review, Playing the Long Game When Bottom Tier

I review the Luchs, a tier 4 German light tank, with a replay of a tier 7 Tundra battle.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 1.4k damage, 3 kills, 2 spots

The Luchs is an incredibly mobile burst damage dealer, but the player needs to manage the autocannon carefully. By applying the tactics discussed in this guide, I averaged a 4k WN8 and 70% win rate through 100 solo battles with silver ammo only.

Strengths and Weaknesses

+ Superb turning radius
+ Excellent burst damage per clip (300)
+ Excellent top speed
+ Good silver ammo penetration relative to its peers
+ Good acceleration
+ Good camouflage
+ Good frontal gun depression of -8, goes up to -10 on the sides
– Long clip reload (~16 sec)
– Very poor accuracy (0.50)
– Gun handling is poor, lots of reticle bloom on movement
– Very susceptible to being tracked
– Somewhat large profile for a light tank

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. GLD
3. Vents: the best of the remaining options, given that the tank can’t mount a Rammer and it’s an excellent active scout so Binocs and Camo Net don’t provide as much value

Errata

Reload for the autocannon is ~16 sec not 20 sec

Per fstd on Reddit: VERY important thing that [Taugrim] neglected to mention: The 30mm cannon has a limited range, the shells just disappear after about 420m IIRC (you can see the exact range in-game if you right click on the gun). XVM users can set it up to provide you with a circle that indicates this range. The gun isn’t just bad at sniping – it is quite literally incapable of it. Don’t even bother shooting at stuff outside of view range, because the gun’s range is definitely less than 445m

Episode #34: SP1C Review, Why Defending Correlates With Winning

I review the SP I C, a tier 7 German light tank, with a replay of a tier 8 Winterberg battle.

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. Rammer
3. Vents

Per VBAddict, most Unicums select Vents over VStab as the 3rd equipment, probably due to the 3-sec intra-clip reload, decent gun handling (for an autoloader), and the fact that as a light tank you should often have the 1st-shot advantage. I’ve tried both and favor Vents.

In this battle I ran with double repair kits, but after getting set on fire 4 times in 80 battles, I switched one of those kits to a fire extinguisher.

Episode #35: T49 Review, 1st-Shot Opportunities for Max Derpage

I review the T49, a tier 8 American light tank, with a replay of a tier 10 Lakeville battle.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 2.9 damage, 4.1k spotted damage

The T49 is a tank many players struggle with due to its very poor gun handling and low accuracy with the 152mm “derp” gun. That said, T49 drivers can leverage the tank’s speed and vision control to create first-shot opportunities to mitigate the long aim time.

Recommended Equipment

I don’t recommend GLD as the gun handling is still poor even with it, and you’d have to give up Rammer or Optics. The tradeoff simply isn’t worth it.

Episode #36: T71 DA Review, Managing a Poor Team Deployment

I review the T71 DA, a tier 7 American light tank, with replays of tier 8 Fisherman’s Bay and Airfield battles.

Stat line: Ace Tanker, 3k damage, 2k spotting damage, 4 kills

I picked up the T71 DA for the first time with patch 0.9.18. It combines good scouting ability with an excellent autoloader. The playstyle fits me like a glove and it’s one of my favorite tanks in the game!

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. VStab
3. Vents

Episode #37: Type 59 Review, Playing From a Position of Strength

I review the Type 59, a tier 8 Chinese premium medium tank, with a replay of a tier 9 Highway battle.

Last month I won a Type 59 from the WGLNA Scavenger Hunt. I was eager to try this tank based on its controversial reputation. After 190 battles (58% WR, 2.7k WN8), in my opinion the Type 59 is solid in the current meta but is no longer overpowered. For those of you who don’t own the Type 59, don’t sweat it – power creep has caught up to it.

UPDATE (Patch 9.20): the Type 59 was meaningfully buffed, as the ammo capacity was increased from 34 to 50 and the aim time was reduced from 2.9s to 2.3s.

Strengths and Weaknesses

+ Superb turret protection, weak spots are very small
+ Excellent credit earner
+ Good gun depression (-7), unusual for a Chinese medium, which marries well with the turret and frontal hull protection
+ Frontal hull armor offers ~165mm of effective armor, even more when angled, and this is solid protection against tier 6 and 7 tanks
– Poor accuracy (0.39)
– Agility and acceleration are mediocre
– Low DPM compared to other tier 8 mediums

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. VStab
3. Rammer

Errata

I erroneously referred to the T95 as “Type 95”

Viewers have asked me to review various premium tanks that I don’t have in my garage. If you’re feeling generous and want to gift me a premium tank, let me know and in most cases I’ll be happy to review it.

Episode #38: Thunderbolt Review, Bullying Same-Tier Opponents

The Thunderbolt continues Wargaming’s recent trend of releasing premiums that are mechanically superior to non-premium peers. The Thunderbolt also comes with a fully-trained crew with “zero-skill” Brother in Arms, so you not only get BIA immediately but that BIA doesn’t affect the progression of additional skills.

Is it worth it? The tank’s strengths allow for a very comfortable playstyle. You can hull-down or you can brawl with hull angling while bleeding your opponents to death.

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. Rammer
3. VStab

Viewers have asked me to review various premium tanks that I don’t have in my garage. If you’re feeling generous and want to gift me a premium tank, let me know and in most cases I’ll be happy to review it.

Episode #39: M4A1 Revalorisé Review, When to Snipe vs Push

I review the M4A1 Revalorise aka “Ravioli”, a tier 8 French premium medium tank, with replays of tier 10 Malinovka and Tundra battles.

Is it worth it? I think so. The Ravioli is a fun tank to play due to its gun characteristics. As a tier 8 premium, it’s an excellent credit earner. The Ravioli is purchasable at any time as it’s part of the French tech tree.

Recommended Equipment

1. Rammer
2. VStab
3. Optics

Some Unicums favor Vents over Optics but as you probably know from my prior videos, I place high value on vision control for lights and mediums.

Viewers have asked me to review various premium tanks that I don’t have in my garage. If you’re feeling generous and want to gift me a premium tank, let me know and in most cases I’ll be happy to review it.

Episode #40: Ranked Battles Review, Getting to Rank 5+

I review Ranked Battles with replays of three Rank 4-5 battles.

I’ve reached Rank 6 in Stage 1 and in Stage 2 of Season 1, playing exclusively in the Bat Chat. Ranked has been a steep learning curve for me as I have no experience with Clan Wars (CW), and many CW concepts are applicable in this game mode, e.g. coordinated pushes, counter-spotting, etc.

My performance significantly improved between Stage 1 and Stage 2, so I’m excited to share what I’ve learned with you.

Ranked Battles has been a lot of fun overall as it’s the most competitive context I’ve experienced in WoT. The players at Ranks 4-5 are quite skilled and this makes for high-quality gameplay. I love that the mode is solo queue so that premades can’t drive outcomes.

I discuss several issues with Ranked Battles, including:
1. the current reward system incentivizes selfish play instead of the shared goal of a team win
2. no risk of de-ranking at Rank 5, so players who attain Rank 5 can spam battles to farm Rating Points. Therefore the leaderboard is influenced not only by skill but also by number of battles played. The mode would benefit from a standard ELO implementation where your rank can be impacted by each match based on the outcome / your performance
3. some tanks and classes (notably heavies) struggle to perform without heavy premium ammo usage. This makes the mode a significant credit sink for many participants

Re: #2 above, Ranks from 5 and up should be an achievement, e.g. similar to 3-marking a tank in WoT, but every battle needs to carry de-rank risk for your current rank.

Let me know how your experience has been with Ranked Battles.

Episode #41: Guide to Light Tanks

Light tanks have the highest “skill cap” of any class, as they are fragile, possess relatively weak guns, and have enough mobility to get the driver into trouble.

In this in-depth guide, we review common mistakes and break down effective tactics to help you understand how to play light tanks correctly.

What Bad Looks Like

What Good Looks Like

1. Active scouting smartly
2. Getting early spots + damage
3. Leveraging intervening soft cover
4. Exploiting low-risk opportunities
5. Knowing when to flank
6. Knowing when to back off / run away
7. Keeping your cool when you have support
8. Beware of friendlies who’ll get you killed
9. Playing with low HP

Recommended UI Options

1. Settings → General → Enable Expanded Minimap Features → Always: this tracks the last spotted location for every enemy tank
2. Settings → General → View range indicators on the Minimap: check all 3 checkboxes. The first shows the view range circle, which is how far your tank can spot. Note that doesn’t account for enemy camo. The second checkbox shows the max distance (445m) that any tank can theoretically spot. The third checkbox shows the max distance that you will render tanks that have been spotted by an ally

Recommended Equipment

1. For the vast majority of light tanks (aside from the ELC AMX), use Coated Optics
2. For the other 2 slots, typically you want one for gun handling (VStab or GLD) and the other for reload (Rammer). For autoloaders that can’t mount Rammer, go with Vents
3. For light tanks around tier 5 that can’t get to 445m view range with Optics and Situational Awareness, I have been experimenting with replacing Rammer with Binocs and having good results. This would be regarded as a controversial choice by other Unicums and I want to emphasize that I do this to help out-spot higher-tier tanks, not to sit stationary and be passive for long stretches of time

P.S. this video was something I’ve wanted to do for a couple years – light tank gameplay is so nuanced – but I knew it would be a TON of work so I kept putting it off. It took several months to collect and catalogue the illustrative footage in the video, so I hope you find it helpful. I’m so relieved to finish it :)

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. VStab
3. Vents

Episode #43: Škoda T 25 Review, Why Ice Road/Valley/Beach Suck

I review the Škoda T 25, a tier 6 Czech medium tank, with a replay of a tier 8 Mountain Pass battle.

The Skoda T25 is a fun tier 6 tank with it’s combination of speed, gun depression, and a compact burst autoloader. The Skoda T25 is a good tank to play to figure out whether you’d enjoy the Skoda T50, which I reviewed in Episode #42.

Recommended Equipment

I review the T-34/100 and TVP VTU, the tier 7 and 8 Czechoslovakian medium tanks, with replays of tier 8 Overlord and Tier 9 Live Oaks battles.

Many players find these tanks difficult to play due to the combination of weak armor and poor gun depression, so I discuss how to manage those deficiencies. I found the T-34/100 to be quite functional but the TVP VTU was miserable. That said, the Skoda T50 is amazing so grinding through those tanks is worth it.

Recommended Equipment

1. Rammer
2. Optics
3. Vents

You can slot GLD instead of Vents, but I find that the faster aim time isn’t as valuable as the all-around benefits of Vents, given that the Pz IV H just needs to land anywhere on a target to damage it, and the aim time for a derp gun is quite manageable.

I review the Bat.-Châtillon 12 t, a tier 8 French light tank, with replays of tier 10 Steppes and tier 8 Redshire battles.

The Bat Chatillon 12t is the ultimate finesse tank. Its autoloader can deal 680 damage in 6 seconds, but it often faces tier 9-10 opponents with large HP pools, so you have to pick your spots carefully and avoid trading as much as possible.

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. VStab
3. Vents

Episode #49: AMX 13 105 Review, Underpowered But Still Fun

I review the AMX 13 105, a tier 10 French light tank, with replays of Siegfried Line and Steppes battles.

The AMX 13 105 combines a hard-hitting, inaccurate autoloader with light tank mechanics (always-on camouflage). The tank can be fun and frustrating in the same battle. I hope that Wargaming improves its gun accuracy and reduces its terrain resistances, as the tank is currently underpowered.

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. VStab
3. Vents

Episode #50: T30 Review, Glorious 750 Alpha

I review the T30, a tier 9 American TD, with replays of tier 9 Abbey and tier 10 Swamp battles.

The T30 meets the standard of “American comfort” with its effective hull-down capability and packs big punch with 750 alpha. That said, the gun handling, low DPM, and lack of mobility require the driver to anticipate situations.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #51: Type 64 Review, Totally Worth It

The Type 64 is widely regarded as one of the best premium tanks of any tier, because it is overpowered relative to its peers and is a fun, comfortable tank to drive. If you’re looking for a mid-tier premium to buy, I highly recommend the Type 64 as it is always available for purchase and is relatively inexpensive (3500 gold).

Recommended Equipment

Episode #52: LTTB Review, Methodically Using Vision and Speed

I review the LTTB, a tier 8 Russian light tank, with a replay of a tier 10 Airfield battle.

The LTTB is popular among Russian light tank fans, as it combines excellent mobility with functional hull and turret armor.

While the armor can’t be relied upon to prevent AP penetration by tier 8-10 guns, you can bully lower tier lights and mediums, and the armor protects the LTTB from the triple-overmatch mechanic and lowers the probability of penetrations by HE. On the flipside, the LTTB has high HE alpha which is useful for countering other lights and squishy TDs.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #53: Löwe Review, Contributing When Bottom Tier

I review the Löwe, a tier 8 German premium heavy tank, with replays of three tier 10 battles in Murovanka, Steppes, and Serene Coast.

The Löwe was underpowered prior to 9.17 but it received buffs to its gun depression, hull armor, and turret armor in 9.17. It is now a capable hull-down fighter thanks to the combination of frontal turret protection, superb max gun depression, and good gun handling. That said, the player needs to carefully manage the Lowe’s exposure, as the tank is slow and has a very soft lower front glacis.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #54: T-54 ltwt Review, Best Flanker in the Game?

The T-54 ltwt has just enough armor to bully lower-tier light and medium tanks, and it has the mobility to flank most heavies. It is one of the top 2 flanking tanks I’ve ever played; the other being the tier 10 T-100 LT.

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. Rammer
3. VStab

Episode #55: Carrying a Losing Team in a Light Tank

I review two come-from-behind victories in the T-54 ltwt, with replays of tier 10 Steppes and tier 9 Erlenberg battles.

Viewers have often asked how to carry in a light tank when your team is not shooting what you spot and especially when your team is meaningfully losing. Some situations are uncarryable, but others are carryable if the driver of a light tank correctly leverages its mobility and vision control.

I review the T-54 first prototype, a tier 8 premium Russian medium tank, with a replay of a tier 10 Abbey battle.

The T-54 first prototype, also known as the T-54 mod 1, is one of the most well-rounded premium tanks at tier 8. Some players regard the tank as overpowered, but I think the limited top speed and AP penetration are meaningful balancing factors.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #57: M4 Sherman Review, Best Derp Tank in the Game!

I review the M4 Sherman, a tier 5 American medium tank, with replays of tier 6 Sand River and Highway battles.

The M4 Sherman is the best derp tank for its tier that I’ve played, thanks to its synergistic combination of superb view range, ability to fight hull-down, and good-enough mobility.

I consider the M4 Sherman to be meaningfully better than the Pz IV H, and this is reflected in my stats – I deal ~100 more damage and ~50 more spotting damage in the M4 Sherman relative to the Pz IV H, along with ~0.4 more spots – and that was with a less-skilled crew.

Episode #59: WZ-132 Review, How to Play Fisherman’s Bay in 1.0

The WZ-132 offers unusually good firepower for a light tank, but the poor gun depression and soft turret require the player to drive it carefully. There is a stereotype that the WZ-132 is a medium tank with always-on camo, but I think it should still be played as a light tank, albeit one that delivers some punch.

Episode #61: Progetto M35 mod 46 Review, Managing the Autoreloader

The Progetto is “worth it” in terms of purchasing, because of the flexibility of the gun. Its autoreloader can fire multiple shots like an autoloader, but the shells reload one at a time. The fewer the shells remaining in the clip (magazine), the slower each shell reloads. Therefore, the key to effective Progetto gameplay is managing your reload times, and I discuss this in-depth in the video. In addition, the gun handling is unusually good, especially compared to most autoloaders.

Recommended Equipment

I review the Lorraine 40t, a tier 8 French premium medium tank, with replays of tier 10 Siegfried Line and Tundra battles.

I also discuss how to correctly play autoloaders that have poor armor. Autoloaders are powerful in late-game situations, but to carry late you have to manage your HP carefully through the early-to-mid phases while still keeping your gun active.

The Lorr 40t has been my most consistent tier 8 premium tank. Through 112 battles I averaged 66% WR, 2149 damage, 1.87 kills, and 1.56 spots. Its mechanics are sound and it performs its role effectively.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #64: T-100 LT Review, Spotting Hill in Prokhorovka in 1.0

In the previous episode, I talked about how to spot the 1-2 lanes on the west side of Prokhorovka. In this episode, I show how to spot the east hill from either spawn. Hill is much more flexible compared to the west side of the map, as you can fire on tanks on the hill and in the middle of the map, whereas on west you are sometimes reduced to only spotting for stretches of time.

The T-100 LT is widely regarded as the best tier 10 light tank. It is currently ranked at #14 overall for win rate for all tier 10 tanks at 50.82% according to vBAddict.

Recommended Equipment

I review the AMX 50 100, a tier 8 French heavy tank, with replays of tier 10 Glacier and tier 8 Steppes battles.

Prior to 2017, the 50 100 was regarded as an effective albeit finesse tank, but with the introduction of the over-armored tier 8 premium heavies and armor buffs in general from tiers 8-10, the 50 100 is more challenging to play with the current meta in 1.0.

Recommended Equipment

Special thanks to /u/similar_observation and /u/Rakkedyman from the WoT sub-Reddit for donating gold so I could re-train my crew to/from the 50 100.

Episode #68: T20 Review, Balancing Activity and Patience

I review the T20, a tier 7 American medium tank, with replays of tier 8 Province and tier 9 Lakeville battles.

The T20 is an enjoyable medium tank that can capably fulfill the roles of spotting, flexing, and flanking. The T20 is relatively fragile compared to the American mediums between tiers 6-10. The driver should generally avoid brawling as the tank lacks the mechanics to be effective in that role.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. Rammer
3. VStab

Episode #69: M 41 90 Review, Countering Opponents When a Flank Falls

I review the M 41 90, a tier 8 premium German light tank, with a replay of a tier 10 Redshire battle.

The M 41 90 statistically performs better than other tier 8 light tanks, probably due to its excellent gun that offers good alpha, DPM, and gun handling. The driver has to be careful with the M 41 90 as it is a large squishy target and possesses sluggish acceleration.

I was surprised that this tank was the voted on the most in the last community poll, as it is not always available for purchase.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #70: Pershing Review, Making the Best of Tough Situations

I review the M26 Pershing, a tier 8 American medium tank, with replays of tier 10 Himmelsdorf and Cliff battles.

The Pershing has an unimpressive reputation, for good reason. While the tank provides American comfort in terms of gun depression and turret protection, it is lacking in many other ways that limit its effectiveness.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #71: AMX 13 75 Review, Guide to 3 Marks of Excellence

I review the AMX 13 75, a tier 7 French light tank with replays of tier 9 Fisherman’s Bay and Glacier battles.

The AMX 13 75 is often compared unfavorably to the T71 DA, but I found the AMX 13 75 to be a highly effective tank. The driver needs to carefully manage the limited gun depression, gun elevation, and ammo capacity.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #72: Strv 103B Review, Covering Weak Flanks For the Win

I review the Strv 103B, a tier 10 Swedish tank destroyer, with a replay of a Live Oaks battle.

The last time I covered the Swedish TD line was back in Episode #45 when I reviewed the tier 9 Strv 103-0, and I talked a lot about brawling.

In this episode, I show how to leverage the incredible vision control and DPM of the Strv 103B to save two failing flanks – first along railroad (0 lane) and then later covering the exit from city (A lane).

Recommended Equipment

This tank does not have the option of mounting VStab. With the relatively good gun handling, GLD is unnecessary.

Episode #77: T28 Review, Brawling as a Turretless TD

I review the T28, a tier 8 American tank destroyer, with replays of tier 9 Erlenberg and tier 10 Himmelsdorf battles.

The T28 is a stout brawler equipped with an excellent gun. It has good camouflage, but due to its poor mobility the driver needs to stay active with positioning so as not to fall behind the pace of the battle. Don’t be too campy in the T28!

Wheeled vehicles offer a totally different driving experience from tracked vehicles. You trade off the ability to pivot in place with much higher speed and acceleration. Wheeled vehicles have two modes for driving: one offers speed (“rapid” mode), the other turning (“cruise” mode).

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. Vents
3. VStab

For the vast majority of light tanks from tiers 6-10, you should not mount Binocs given that Optics are a must and for the other 2 slots there are better choices (e.g. VStab + Vents for autoloaders, VStab + Rammer for non-autoloaders), but with this tank the base view range is so bad and the dispersion values are so good that I would use Binocs instead of VStab if the tank supported Binocs.

Episode #79: AMX 13 57 Review, Maximizing Your Autoloader Efficiency

I review the AMX 13 57, a tier 7 premium French light tank, with replays of tier 9 Murovanka and Pilsen battles.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #80: Emil I Review

The Emil 1 is the first of three Swedish heavy autoloaders that feature turrets with excellent frontal protection and amazing gun depression. The Emil I is rough around the edges but the Emil II is a meaningful upgrade at-tier in terms of penetration and frontal turret protection.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #81: T95 Review, The Quintessential Bully

I review the T95, a tier 9 American tank destroyer, with replays of tier 10 Fisherman’s Bay and tier 9 Lakeville battles.

The T95 is the quintessential bully. The frontal armor is incredibly strong, and the only meaningful weak spots are the two cupolas, which still have ~212mm of effective armor. The side armor is thick and sloped toward the middle of the tank, so with angling the side is difficult to penetrate.

Strengths and Weaknesses

+ Superb frontal hull armor: 305mm to over 400mm effective, aside from a thin silver at the bottom of the hull which is still ~250mm effective
+ Superb side armor (152.4mm) that is sloped and will bounce shells when you are angled 30 degrees relative to incoming fire
+ Excellent alpha (750)
+ Excellent camouflage (~34 with Concealment and BIA)
+ Good gun handling for a turretless TD
+ Low profile
– Very low top speed (20 kph)
– Very sluggish acceleration
– Cupolas are vulnerable to accurate high-tier guns
– Poor gun depression (-5)
– Lack of turret limits brawling around corners

Recommended Equipment

This tank can get by without VStab due to the low dispersion values. I prefer Vents over VStab for the improvement to view range.

Errata

1. the shell velocity of the AP and HE rounds is identical. I incorrectly stated in the video that AP had higher velocity (which is often true for other tanks)

Episode #85: Lynx 6×6 Review, Common Mistakes with Wheeled Vehicles

I review the Panhard AML Lynx 6×6, a tier 8 French wheeled light tank, with replays of tier 10 Prokhorovka and Murovanka battles.

The Lynx 6×6 combines a potent gun with a highly mobile platform, but like other wheeled vehicles it has horrible view range and negligible armor. (Same summary I said of the EBR Hotchkiss, which I also enjoyed.)

I review the Rhm Panzerwagen , a tier 10 German light tank, with a replay of an all tier 10 Steppes battle.

The Rheinmetall Panzerwagen is the worst-performing tier 10 tanks, due to the combination of huge profile, paper armor, and very poor DPM. I would rate the Rhm Pzw as worse than the Sheridan, given that the latter has higher alpha (390 vs 320) and higher DPM.

Our platoon manages to pull off one of the rarest combination of medals – Crucial Contribution with Brothers in Arms – in what was a huge come-from-behind carry.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #87: Lynx 6×6 Review, Vision Control and Flanking Tactics

This is my 2nd look at the Panhard AML Lynx 6×6, a tier 8 French wheeled light tank, with replays of tier 9 Malinovka and Sand River battles.

I discuss vision control for wheeled vehicles given their very low view range and how to leverage their mobility to create opportunities for flanking fire.

Episode #88: T110E3 Review, Frontally Dominant but Squishy Sides

I review the T110E3, a tier 10 American tank destroyer, with replays of Lakeville and Murovanka battles.

The E3 is a curious successor to the T95. Like the T95, the E3 possesses strong frontal armor and alpha of 750. However, unlike the T95, the T110E3 has very weak side armor and so it disproportionately benefits from support and platooning.

Recommended Equipment

Errata

1. The premium ammo HEAT penetration is 230, not 240 as stated in the video

Episode #90: EBR 105 Review, Gaining Map Control With Vision

I review the Panhard EBR 105, a tier 10 French wheeled vehicle, with replays of Karelia and Prokhorovka battles.

One thing I didn’t mention in the video is that this tank has a tendency to fishtail and spin out. I tend to deliberately slow down prior to reaching the point where I want to stop to prevent fishtailing.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #91: Leo Review, Creating Bushes for 1st Shot Advantage

The Leo is an oft misunderstood and misplayed tank. The 10cm gun has poor gun handling and a long aim time of 3 seconds base but it hits hard. With proper use of vision control, you can fully aim in, and one of the tricks I show in this video is creating a deep line of bushes by knocking over trees so that you can repeatedly gain the “1st Shot Advantage”.

The UDES 14 5 offers a unique style of play; it blends a high-alpha gun with a low-profile platform. The hydraulic suspension enables the driver to increase the max gun depression from -6 to -13 at low speeds, but it’s not immediate gun depression and therefore has limitations in terms of practical use.

If you don’t like brawling and do like vision sniping, this is probably a tank you’ll enjoy.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #95: P.44 Pantera Review, Playing the New Kharkov Map

I review the P.44 Pantera, a tier 8 Italian medium tank, with replays of all tier 8 Kharkov and Live Oaks battles.

The P.44 Pantera is the first tech tree tank in the Italian medium line that features an autoreloader gun, which combines single-shell reloading with a clip of 3 shells. The autoreloader gun provides a lot of flexibility: you can play the single-shell DPM game or you can unload your clip for maximum burst damage.

Strengths and Weaknesses

+ Autoreloader gun delivers compact burst (720 in 5s)
+ Superb top speed (60)
+ Excellent gun depression (-8)
+ Good accuracy (0.33 base)
+ Unusually high velocity for silver AP (1050m/s)
– Low view range (380m) makes it difficult to get to 445m without a very skilled Commander
– Armor is not good enough to rely upon, but it will give some troll bounces

Recommended Equipment

1. Rammer
2. Optics
3. VStab

Episode #96: Standard B Review, Carrying by Flexing at the Right Times

While the LHMTV suffers from very low DPM like the British tier 7, 9, and 10 light tanks, the LHMTV has the best gun at-tier for its line. The gun has superb penetration and excellent alpha, and paired with the excellent camouflage I was able to get very good results in the LHMTV.

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. Rammer
3. Vents (what I use) or VStab

Even with Optics and BIA, you can’t reach 445m of view range without food unless you have Situational Awareness and Recon on your Commander, which means the Commander has 5 skills (SS, Camo BIA, SA, and Recon).

Because I prefer to run with Automatic Fire Extinguisher over food in paper tanks, I had to use Vents as the 3rd equipment to reach 445m of view range.

Episode #100: Bourrasque Review, Blending Burst with Vision Control

I review the Bourrasque, a tier 8 French premium medium tank, with replays of tier 8 Westfield and Cliff battles.

The Bourrasque marries the vision control of a light tank with compact burst damage. It is the quintessential finesse tank due to its many limitations, but when played correctly it has a lot to offer.

Recommended Equipment

Episode #106: T-44 Review, Creating Perpendicular Fire

I recently re-purchased this tank to grind the Object 430U line, as many of you have asked for a review for the 430U.

It’s been 5 years since I reviewed the T44, back in Episodes #4 and #5.

It’s worth revisiting this tank for several reasons:
1. The meta in the game has shifted towards more armor on tanks, especially heavies, and players have often asked how to deal with that in tanks such as the T-44 that have lackluster silver ammo penetration
2. The T-44 received meaningful buffs in 2018 to the turret armor, engine, gun handling, and silver penetration (+7). The first two buffs meaningfully impact how this tank can be used, especially for spotting
3. I’m a much better player now than I was in 2015

Episode #107: Object 430 Review, Brawling and Visioning Successfully

The Object 430 has inverted-angled side hull armor, and this allows the tank to brawl very effectively with sidescraping technique. The tank can also play the vision game thanks to its high camouflage, although the gun’s poor accuracy limits its sniping potential.

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. Vstab
3. Rammer

Episode #108: Object 430U Review, Carrying Through Brains and Brawn

I review the Object 430U, a tier 10 Russian medium tank, with replays of Ruinberg and Paris battles.

The 430U has the most obnoxious hull armor of any tech tree medium and it has excellent camo, so it’s equally comfortable when brawling or playing the vision game. The gun handling is poor relative to its peers, so that does limit its ability to engage at range.

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. Rammer
3. VStab

Episode #110: AMX 13 90 Review, Dealing with Wheeled Vehicles

I review the AMX 13 90, a tier 9 French light tank, with replays of two tier 10 Highway battles.

Viewers have often asked how I deal with wheeled vehicles, in particular the EBRs, when playing a light tank with tracks, so I discuss that in detail. People have also asked me to revisit the 13 90 as I reviewed it before the changes to light tanks in 0.9.18, so I cover the current 13 90 mechanics.

Recommended Equipment

1. Optics
2. VStab
3. Vents

Episode #111: Object 140 Review, Aging Like Fine Wine

I review the Object 140, a tier 10 Russian medium tank, with replays of Fisherman’s Bay and Highway battles.

About 4-5 years ago, the 140 was THE meta medium tank, but even with the powercreep over the past several years, it’s still a good tank. The combination of DPM, gun handling, vision, and functional armor make this a fun tank to play.

What is the purpose of the “Road to Unicum” videos?

When I read the official WoT forums, WoT sub-Reddit, and WoTLabs forums, one question comes up more than any other: how do I improve my gameplay?

This is particularly challenging for players who have hit a ceiling in terms of their measurable performance (e.g. win rate, WN8 rating, etc) and are not sure what to do. While players can download replays of highly-skilled players, those replays don’t capture the thinking process of the player behind the tank – you see their actions but don’t necessarily know the why’s behind them.

Therefore, in this video series I share what I’ve learned as I progress towards account Unicum rating (top 1%) with silver ammo only. I talk through how I’m reading the battle as it unfolds and discuss key decisions and mistakes. My hope is that these videos meaningfully help other players improve their gameplay.

For full disclosure, I spend money on the game, and that most definitely helps with stats. I believe that it’s possible to reach Unicum as a F2P player and with silver ammo, but the process would be extremely tedious and suck the fun out of the game for me.

What does “Unicum” mean?

Unicum is a term coined by the WoT community to denote players who are rated in the top 1% in terms of measurable performance (i.e. stats) that are publicly available for each player.

The most widely-used and credible community-created rating system is known as WN8. No rating system is perfect, but WN8 addressed many of the flaws from earlier rating systems.

The WN authors performed extensive statistical analysis of player data from stat sites (e.g. VBAddict and Noobmeter) to determine which stats correlate with winning. They used to manually derive “expected values” for every tank every few months, but eventually the XVM mod team automated the calculation of expected values on a daily basis.

An individual player is measured against these expected values for each tank the player has played, using the player’s data that is publicly available through the WoT API for Random Battles (aka “public battles” or simply “pubs”), and then an aggregate calculation is used to determine a single WN8 number for that player’s account.

Keep in mind that the WoT API does not provide some of the stats that you see in-game. E.g. in-game you can see assisted damage for each tank, whereas in the WoT API that data is only available at the account level. Ratings systems such as WN8 can only work with the data available in the WoT API.

Who is the intended audience?

Basically anyone who does not already have a purple WN8 Recent (2450+) and who is looking for guidance / tips for improving their gameplay.

Players who already have a purple Recent WN8 already know much of what I know. That being said, I’ve picked up useful nuggets from watching and playing with other Unicums, and vice versa. The game is richly complex :)

Your account is not Unicum in some of these videos, so why did you publish them?

The title implies the journey to get there, not already being there.

That said, I reached account Unicum (2450 WN8) at 13195 battles on my original WoT account with silver ammo only:

Beyond WoT, I have a long history of publishing guides for various online games that have meaningfully helped players improve their gameplay. Sharing knowledge and providing guidance are things I love to do.

I don’t use gold ammo in pubs because it’s very problematic for tank balance. No judgement on players who use it, it is a built-in game mechanic and is a powerful tool.

Tanks with heavy armor give up a lot for that armor: acceleration, top speed, hull traverse, turret traverse, etc. Gold ammo greatly reduces the effective armor of such tanks while leaving those tanks with all the downsides of bearing that armor.

For the purpose of these educational videos, I think it’s more illustrative and helpful to viewers to show how to perform well with silver ammo, as opposed to firing a lot of gold.

For full premade contexts (e.g. strongholds, and if I ever do them, Clan Wars, etc) and for Ranked battles, I do load and fire some gold ammo. Keep in mind that WN8 only measures stats from Random Battles.

But gold ammo is available for credits now, doesn’t that fix the pay-to-win issue?

Like I said in the previous question, gold ammo is very problematic for tank balance, not just player balance. Beyond that, it’s important to recognize gold ammo for what it is: a cleverly-designed credit (money) sink.

Money sinks are typically implemented in games with an economy (e.g. MMORPGs such as World of Warcraft that have auction houses) to prevent inflation. There is no player-based economy in WoT per se (i.e. you can’t buy/sell/trade stuff with other players), but credits are used in WoT for paying for many things in-game: new tanks, tank upgrades, equipment, post-battle repairs, ammunition, consumables, crew training/re-skilling, camouflage, etc.

The effect of a credit sink such as premium ammo – which is typically 3-20 times more expensive than silver ammo – is to make it less likely that a player will turn a profit, and without a profit, a player can’t accumulate credits to pay for new things (upgrades, tanks, etc). So players are pressured into spending real money to boost their in-game income: e.g. with premium tanks, premium subscription, buying credits with real money, etc. This fosters a P4A (Pay for Advantage) environment. Nowadays most PVP games (e.g. MOBAs, Overwatch, PUBG, Fortnite, etc) sell in-game items that are cosmetic / don’t confer any in-battle advantage.

Credit sinks such as gold ammo are why WoT has the highest ARPU (by a mile) of any F2P MMO in history.

How do we know you really don’t use gold ammo in Random Battles?

I can’t offer you exhaustive proof – that would require my collecting and posting tens of thousands of screenshots or replay files, and frankly no one would go through them all anyway.

That said, I can offer meaningful proof – I have posted thousands of screenshots (over 2782) for battles in which I earned Ace Tanker or 1st class badges, and you can see from the ammo re-supply costs that I’m firing silver ammo only.

Aside from that, you’ll have to take my word for it, and the fact that no one will ever be able to post a replay of my firing gold ammo at them in a Random Battle.

Why don’t you use mods?

I’ve never used any mods in WoT, for multiple reasons:

The stock UI is very functional and several of the best features from mods have been incorporated by Wargaming into the UI – see next FAQ for my recommended UI settings

It’s not completely clear to me which mods are legal and which are not. If I’m ever accused of hacking or using cheating mods, it’s much easier to simply respond that I’ve never used any mods

Some mods give information (such as XVM’s player stats) which I think is depressing or distracting to see, e.g. many players react very negatively during the loading screen based on the respective teams and then play fatalistically because they assume their team is doomed. I react to game flow based on what my eyes tell me. I do keep a mental note of good players and good clans (e.g. the top 10 listed on WoTLabs)

It’s a hassle when mods break, especially due to game patches, and I don’t want to become overly dependent on them

Some people in my cross-gaming guild kept insisting that mods were essential, same with gold ammo, and I often buck the trend to prove a point. Mods can definitely help, but they’re aren’t needed to play at a Unicum level

Some (formal) formats don’t allow mods. I’ll probably never do tournaments and stuff, but you never know…

I do use mods in other games, e.g. WoW, WildStar. For the reasons above, I don’t in WoT.

What UI settings/options do you recommend?

It’s extremely worthwhile to turn on the following features in the UI:

Settings → General → Enable Expanded Minimap Features → Always: this tracks the last spotted location for every enemy tank

Settings → General → View range indicators on the Minimap: check all 3 checkboxes. The first shows the view range circle, which is how far your tank can spot. Note that doesn’t account for enemy camo. The second checkbox shows the max distance (445m) that any tank can theoretically spot. The third checkbox shows the max distance that you will render tanks that have been spotted by an ally

Settings → Battle Notifications → Log → Detailed damage → Display always: you should always have the damage panel up. It lets you know who is shooting you and with which kind of ammo

Settings → General → Horizontal stabilization in Sniper mode: ensures that if you’re in sniper mode and you turn the hull the gun will stay pointed (or will try to stay pointed) at whatever you were aiming at. It makes driving in sniper mode while trying to fight much easier

Why don’t you have a purple (60%) account Win Rate?

Why WR is steadily increasing as I continue to improve my skill level.

That said, keep in mind that WR is easily padded via platooning with skilled players, since WR is a reflection of team performance. WN8 is more of a reflection of individual performance. Unicum WR is 60-64%, Super Uni is 65+%. Those are difficult WRs to sustain solopubbing (solo queuing), let alone with silver ammo only.

There is a web site that implemented “platoon ratio” calculations that give you an idea how much 2-way and 3-way padding platoons (i.e. platoons with skilled players) a given player runs. What I’ve noticed is that the vast majority of Unicums have much higher padding platoon ratios compared to other players and to me.

My guess is that I’ve solopub’d ~90% of my battles. It’s not that I don’t like platooning with people – I do – but some sessions I hop around various tanks or play tiers other people aren’t interested in, and other times I’m intentionally soloing because I’m trying to capture footage for a video.

Why do you zoom out immediately upon firing and in-between autoloader shots?

I want to see what is going on beyond the sniper view, which by definition is very focused on a small area. Occasionally I’ll notice something when I’m zoomed out that influences my next action.

Do you play stock tanks or only fully-researched tanks?

The answer is in-between those two. I typically use enough Free XP to research the first gun with functional penetration (doesn’t have to be the top gun), then grind the remaining gun(s), engine(s), and other upgraded modules.

A lot of players research engines on mediums tanks before I typically do, but if your gun isn’t functional, mobility doesn’t meaningfully matter, because you’ll just get to a place faster and start bouncing shells.

In most cases, upgraded tracks are required to mount upgraded gun(s). Depending how much Free XP I have, what I’ll sometimes do is mount suspension equipment, then forgo one piece of equipment (although I almost always use VStab for upper-tier tanks because of aim time reduction), then grind out the upgraded tracks and swap out the suspension equipment.

Keep in mind that upgraded tracks not only increase max load and track HP, they also reduce terrain resistances (which improves mobility) and in some cases dispersion (which improves gun handling). The easiest way to see this is on tanks.gg.

As an example, for the M103 I Free XP’d the middle gun (T112) and the turret, but I grinded out the top gun (M58) and the engine, and I didn’t bother to research the upgraded radio nor tracks to minimize how long it would take me to grind out the T110E5. Although if I were playing the M103 for keeps, researching the tracks would be worth it.

What crew skills and equipment do you recommend for a given tank?

Watch the first 15 seconds of the video in the garage – that will typically have the recommended and most recent setup that I’m running with for that tank.

What should I spend my gold on?

In order of priority (best options first):

Premium time

Retraining a crew member to a different tank / buying a gold crew member

Reskilling a crew member

Demounting equipment that is expensive (e.g. Optics) from a tank you don’t plan on playing again

Converting free XP to research modules

Premium tanks

Changing the qualification (role) of a crew member; only do this to convert an extra Radio Operator or Loader to Commander

Buying permanent camouflage, if appearance matters to you (it does to me). Keep in mind you can remove camouflage from one tank and apply it to another tank of the same nation. You can also rent camo for a tank for 100 battles for 75k credits

Converting free XP to skip tanks

The top 4 items above offer the best value. WoT could really be considered “World of Crews” so spending gold on crew members (#2 and #3) is worth it. With the introduction of the female crew members as Campaign rewards, #7 is something you won’t have to do much, as you can obtain female Commanders with immediate Sixth Sense. To get Sixth Sense instantly, you also have the option to purchase a crew training manual for 2MM credits.

Some players would rank “Premium tanks” higher on the list. Unless you are willing to spend many hundreds of dollars on WoT to buy many premium tanks, you should research to determine which particular premium tank(s) are appealing to you, e.g. because they support your preferred playstyle, they are in a nation’s line that you want to grind, etc.

There are some players who spend gold to convert free XP to skip tanks – and I used to do this years ago – but by skipping tanks you miss the opportunity to experience tanks that are underrated by the community (e.g. M103) or that you may actually enjoy, and grinding through a given tank develops your crew. That is why I ranked skipping tanks last.

How do you choose your replays?

I chose replays based on the tank lines I’m working on, poll votes from viewers, and comments from viewers.

Let me clearly state that I don’t just upload any random or normal replay.

I intentionally choose replays where there is educational value, in terms of good illustrative gameplay and mistakes that I make. For the most part, the replays are of battles in which there is meaningful challenge, since there isn’t much to learn from a faceroll victory.

Can you post replays where you are the bottom tier?

By “bottom tier” the community has traditionally meant when a player is 2 tiers below the top tier.

Yes, I’ve been posting such replays since the 5th episode and will continue to do so.

Do you make videos of arty gameplay?

No, for two reasons:

I enjoy driving tanks as well as operating a gun. Arty is more about the latter than the former. This is not to say it wouldn’t be fun – for me the timing of shell travel over distances would be interesting – but the gameplay wouldn’t be as engaging to me as other tank classes

Arty tends to make battles much more campy since players are uncomfortable moving out of arty-safe positions

Do you make videos of tournaments or Clan Wars?

Not yet.

Both require that I play in organized groups at specific times, and I’m not interested enough to make the commitment.

My videos to-date are strictly for game modes that anyone can queue for solo, e.g. Random Battles and Frontline, since such public battles are where most players spend the vast majority of their time.

Do you have any beginner’s guides that cover core game mechanics?

Yes, I have written guides on the following essentials concepts for WoT:

I’m feeling incredibly generous and want to support your WoT gaming with a donation, so how do I do that?

Shop on Amazon through one of these links: CA | DE | FR | UK | US
Any purchase you make supports me and won’t impact what you pay

Before you gift me a premium tank (and thanks, that’s very generous of you!), please let me know your intention. E.g. I declined a TOG II gift because I couldn’t stomach the snail-like mobility. That said, there are plenty of premium tanks that would be interesting to try, so let me know and we’ll discuss.

43 comments on ““Road to Unicum” Tank Guides & Reviews for World of Tanks”

Hey Taugrim, thanks a lot for your guides. I’m posting this here because I don’t want to make a G+ account.
I’ve been a 1k WN8 player for a long time, mostly because i played WoT like it was Call of Duty or some other fast paced FPS. Through your very eloquent explanations and comments of your and others’ gameplays I’ve learned a lot not just about WoT but about using my brain in general (lol). Think, then act. I’ve managed to get my recent WN8 to around 2k which is a big thing for me since I have still a long way to go, in terms of gameplay.

I’ve been a 1k WN8 player for a long time….Through your very eloquent explanations and comments of your and others’ gameplays I’ve learned a lot not just about WoT but about using my brain in general (lol). Think, then act. I’ve managed to get my recent WN8 to around 2k which is a big thing for me

That is awesome, congrats :)

Keep up the great work man, cheers :)

I’ve got a list of videos to make, just have been taking a bit of a break and trying to correct some very poor play on my part the past 10 days.

Hello, I discovered you a few days ago and have since gone through your entire ‘Road to’ series. I really appreciate all your time that you have invested to put these videos out there. I intend to go through them again and try and break down where my mistakes would have been and how I could respond better to what I am seeing.

I am not sure if you have done the Leopard series but would really love some input from you on that if that interests you.

Why did you hate the IP? I’m on that one and it’s really fun. Good gun, bouncy armor, decent speed. Definitely a big improvement from the 30.02 D. Then again, I’ve enjoyed most of the German tanks, so maybe I’m a bit biased.

Also, what are your thoughts on the new French mediums, especially the 30B? I haven’t seen too many yet, but it looks solid.

Why did you hate the IP? I’m on that one and it’s really fun. Good gun, bouncy armor, decent speed

Hmm, it’s been a while since I played the tank. IIRC the IP was my first tier 8. I didn’t really understand how to play an upper tier medium at the time.

I didn’t like the IP’s sluggish acceleration, and the tank was pretty squishy – even the turret was consistently pen’able. It looks like I decided to try the British medium line since they feature good turrets from tier 8+, and then after that the E50M line which has functional armor.

Also, what are your thoughts on the new French mediums, especially the 30B? I haven’t seen too many yet, but it looks solid.

They seem very similar to the Leo line – squishy, fast, good gun handling, good gun depression.

I literally had about 10 days of playing on tilt, and it was awful and frustrating.

During my break from WoT I picked GW2 up again, but as of a week ago I’m back to playing WoT again. I just started working up the E5 line, although I’m only at the T1 Heavy and have a long way to go. Still debating whether to commit to the line or pick a different one.

I’m on the T29, about 40k experience in for unlocking the T32. So I’m not too far behind ya.

how is GW2 these days? I played for a couple months on release but I ended up leaving.

It’s gotten much better compared to the 1st year.

Here are some of the notable positive changes:
1. all Ascended gear is now account-bound not soulbound
2. all Legendary gear is now account-bound not soulbound
3. daily quests related to earning Laurel for Ascended gear were changed from random tedious quests to just logging in
4. all weapon and armor skins are shared across an account
5. megaserver was implemented, so maps have a healthy population / critical mass of players
6. sPvP is now meaningfully connected to progressing your character in the game

What I did this time around in GW2 is finish leveling my Guardian to 80 and get him geared out with Exotics and a few Ascended jewelry pieces.

I did start to get a bit bored again. I just don’t love the combat system. I don’t like how small the icons are for boons and conditions, I don’t like that some abilities require aiming but others don’t, etc. And I really dislike that while there are tons of stat mixes, the majority of them are very sub-optimal. E.g. I played a Berserker Guardian in PVE and it has both good survivability (via Aegis, blinds, and invulnerabilities) and ridiculous DPS.

Love your detail and calm and clear voice. You really make extremely good content

Thanks :)

It’s fun to be back, and I am enjoying the game more than I did back in February.

P.S. de Cromwell B is really worth getting

It looks like a great tank!

The Cromwell is an extremely fun tank to play and I heard the Cromwell B’s only downside is slightly more reticle bloom.

Speaking of premium tanks, I’ve been considering buying the T34 since I am now working up the American heavy line. Not sure I really need it since I have the T29 now and it will take many hundreds of battles to grind up to the T110E5, so by that time the crew should be solidly trained.

I just cracked 4k damage in a tier 8 battle with the T29. Such a fantastic combination of strong turret + great gun depression.

the T29 is lovely. and very strong ever since the ears are no longer a hitbox. some people play it with the m6 gun to get more dpm so they can really skyrocket their WN8. however they tend to fire a lot of prem to achieve this.

As for the T34. its a really sollid tank. Great gun. large tracks to sidescrape with if there are no hull down positions. Only downside is that is has a pretty low DPM same as the Löwe. But the T34 has higher alpha so you have a longer reload. if people know this and you are alone they tend to just rush you. Other than that it really is a solid prem. bit more mobile than the Löwe. And good credit earning capabilities.

Hi Taugrim,
Just wanted to say tank you :-).. thanks for putting up these videos, they are well made and highly educational. They actually show what to do and what to avoid doing in a structured and usefull manner.
I am sure they are helping many.,,. for sure they are helping me!
Cheers
Pofindof1

Hi there.. one quick question. I noticed on your stats that you had a steady progression until game 12 000. Then the progression rate slowed down significantly (in comparison to before 12k games).
Can you guess as the to reason for it?
Cheers
Pof

If yes, the problem is that a lot of the historical data on Noobmeter for my account for some reason was lost. I think that Mr. Noobmeter has had to reduce the amount of data stored due to capacity reasons.

I did save the Noobmeter stats over time. Here are the charts for Noobmeter for my first 10k battles:

Taugrim, how about posting some videos of matches where you are disadvantaged — for example playing a medium two tiers below the top tier. I’m a pretty good (WN8 1296) player but, like many, have a difficult time playing two tiers down consistently well. It would be good to see how you do it.

Hey Tau, I had a really fun game with you 3 days ago on live oaks. You were playing an M4 (?). I was in the leo trying out the pew pew gun. The game result was less than Stella but wanted to let you know I got “Coolest Dad of the year”. award for being in a game with “THE” Taugrim :) :) I am very grateful for that and well worth the pain of trying to get my phat fingers to work on a keyboard. Hope to see you around.

Starded to play a year ago and I was absolute trash for 2k games (around 250 wn8).
Recently I came back on the game, enjoying it, and I’ve watched a lot of videos of you and Lemmingrush, it allowed me to improve a lot.
Now I’m around 5k games, 850 wn8 increasing slowly but my recent wn8 is more around 1500.

But I have still huge consistency issues: I can have a 4k dammage 6 kills carry and die within a minute the next game.

I appear to have good games on open map, I play mostly meds and lights and have acquired strong understanding of camo and spotting mechanics, but I’m absolute trash in city maps like Siegfried line, Erlenberg or Ensk. It seems like on those map either I have a terrible game, or a good one but it’s pure luck.

Next problem is: I struggle when my team is bad.
I can carry when it’s quite balanced, but when my team is terrible (5 tanks down in the first minute as an exemple), I don’t know what to do. I like to play aggressive and it’s heavily punished when you have no allies with you. This is destroying my winrate, on some tanks I have around 1300 wn8 but 30% winrate and I don’t get why.

FInally, I sometimes struggle when my team is too good, they roll on the ennemy and I struggle a bit to get enough damage to have good stats on these games.

I’ve noticed that part of my issues are due to the fact that when I get bad RNG, I tend to be too much aggressive to get damage, and I make very bad trades of Hit point.

I’m absolute trash in city maps like Siegfried line, Erlenberg or Ensk. It seems like on those map either I have a terrible game, or a good one but it’s pure luck.

Siegfried Line for a light tank is actually pretty good – the field has plenty of rows of bushes to work with.

The new Erlenberg is mostly a vision map, with brawling in the middle city area.

Ensk can be a tough one. I’m gradually experimenting not with going field per se but spotting along the vertical tracks and rows of buildings.

Next problem is: I struggle when my team is bad.
I can carry when it’s quite balanced, but when my team is terrible (5 tanks down in the first minute as an exemple), I don’t know what to do. I like to play aggressive and it’s heavily punished when you have no allies with you

Some teams are uncarryable.

I try to make the most out of every battle.

What you can’t do is push a flank solo, or rush in without support. If you sense your allies aren’t going to help or aren’t in a position to support you, then don’t take foolish risks.

Where you are now as a ~1.5k recent WN8 is you’re solid enough not to make totally dumb mistakes – like driving into the open or picking bad approach lanes – but you’re not good enough yet to create opportunities for yourself and your team. That takes a lot of experimentation and experience.

I’ve noticed that part of my issues are due to the fact that when I get bad RNG, I tend to be too much aggressive to get damage, and I make very bad trades of Hit point.

Try never to trade, unless you will get a kill or track out of it and your target will take much more damage than you took.

Hi Taugrim! I felt like I was going to bump into an old post here, but considering you have been updating this post all the time I feel less guilty posting. I hope it’s OK for you.

I should tell you that I have recently been into playing WoT again since last November after a long hiatus from ’17. And thanks to this series of videos I am able to get a last 1000 battle wn8 of 2091 (my overall wn8 is 1462). I have been following your series since my comeback.

I am in the process of constantly trying new tanks. I am currently playing the Sheridan line (on the T37), the IS-7 line (on the IS-3) and the 13 105 line (on the AMX 12t). On those 3 vehicles, I don’t really feel comfortable playing. All of their individual tank wn8s are apparently lower than my recent 2091 wn8 rating. I have no troubles playing other tanks that I also tried recently (T21, WZ-131, Pz 4, 34-85, etc.). I am trying to improve my plays on those tanks. However, looking at this series those particular tanks are only present on your old uploads. WoT is considerably different than it was 3-4 years ago and apparently, I cannot wholly apply what you taught in those videos.

For example, the amount of power creeps that the IS-3 faces daily is insane nowadays. For example, it can’t even battle the same tier Defender and it is a lot inferior to the IS-3A, let alone the tier 9s and 10s. For the T37, I feel like the current top gun is downright lacklustre, especially the accuracy (and compared to its cousin the T21). The AMX 12t, however, isn’t too bad and I have applied what you taught in #41 and #24 but I have a tank wn8 of 2019 on it, which I feel should be higher.

So, my question is, would you consider remaking your older videos and help me? If yes then that’d be greatly appreciated!

I am currently playing the Sheridan line (on the T37), the IS-7 line (on the IS-3) and the 13 105 line (on the AMX 12t). On those 3 vehicles, I don’t really feel comfortable playing. All of their individual tank wn8s are apparently lower than my recent 2091 wn8 rating. I have no troubles playing other tanks that I also tried recently (T21, WZ-131, Pz 4, 34-85, etc.). I am trying to improve my plays on those tanks. However, looking at this series those particular tanks are only present on your old uploads. WoT is considerably different than it was 3-4 years ago and apparently, I cannot wholly apply what you taught in those videos.

The IS-3 got slightly buffed in terms of its armor compared to when I covered it in 2 videos. There has been a lot of armor inflation with newer tier 8 premium heavies and that has made it more challenging for tech tree heavies in general. But the IS-3 playstyle is identical.

Likewise, the T37 plays the same as when I reviewed it.

The 12t with patch 0.9.18 had the clip size reduced from 6 to 4, but it got it’s MM adjusted from tier 7-9 battles down to tier 6-8. Overall the 12t is in a very good spot. I actually recently picked that tank back up because I wanted to see how it’s performing and the answer is well.

Keep in mind a few things:
1. the 12t may be the first autoloader light tank you’ve played – the learning curve is steep, so give yourself time to get used to how to use the autoloader efficiently and effectively
2. the T37 is a solid tank but it has a very large profile and is therefore unforgiving of mistakes

The tactics I talk about in my reviews of French light autoloaders are all still relevant. It’s about maximizing vision control and finding safe windows where you can fire multiple shots without eating return fire.

I may make a video on the 12t to talk about it since it was effectively buffed in 0.9.18, so thanks for making the request.

Thanks for answering! I will be waiting for your updated AMX 12t video.

I haven’t had the time to spare playing WoT recently because college went in my way, but I’ve spent the last week trying to play a few battles every day. So far, it went well. I got my AMX 12t to 3k+ WN8 recent watching your pre 9.18 AMX 12t, your BC 12t and your 13 75 videos. It just seems that I was not aggressive enough. I hope it wasn’t just a fluke though :D. It was really my first autoloading light tank (despite playing the Luchs a long time ago, but I was a skrub back then).